


blooming days

by fuyuki_peridot



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i love blooming days a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 16:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15174836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuyuki_peridot/pseuds/fuyuki_peridot
Summary: A week out of Kim Minseok's monochromatic everyday before a certain someone comes along to color his days.





	blooming days

**Author's Note:**

> i love blooming days as a comeback so much. wonderful vibes, aesthetics, lyrics, everything. i know this is very late but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ enjoy!

It's Monday.

Minseok's eyes refuse to open; it's much too warm and comfortable, being wrapped up in layers of thick, soft blankets. The ringing of the alarm pierces through the silence and makes him peek out over the top of his cocoon.

The room is still dark, but a blueish tinge is starting to creep in. His vision still hazy, Minseok forces himself out of bed to grumpily turn off the alarm. He yawns, stretches lazily. It's only 5:00 AM. He's got plenty of time to make it to work. Maybe he'll take an extra fifteen minutes to sleep. It's Monday, after all. There's no one who could possibly be energized enough to make it to work early.

And yet, when he steps out into the blue-dyed morning, he regrets his decision to take an extra fifteen minutes, because the streets are already jammed and the bus he boards is packed. It's barely been ten minutes out his house and he's already exhausted, worn down. Going to the same damn office job every single boring day- ah, he wants the weekend to be here already.

And then he looks up, locks eyes with a beautiful stranger. He sees a flash of high, prominent cheekbones and friendly, upturned brows- curly, pretty lips- and suddenly, he's out of sight.

Minseok is definitely awake now.  
  
But by the time he gets to his office, he's tired already and the amount of work already piled up on his desk doesn't help. He stifles a groan, and because he's a Mature And Responsible Adult, he gets to work.

Time crawls on, excrutiatingly slow, and the pile of papers slowly disappear. It feels like an eternity before the work day is over and he's on his way home. He's probably wished for the weekend to be here already _at least_ a thousand times.

He walks home sluggishly. The sun's almost gone down, and yet he already wants to go to sleep- and then- again- the stranger-

They stand together at the traffic light, waiting so that they can cross. Minseok waits with bated breath. No recognition dawns on his pretty face, and they cross- and stop at the same light again.

 _It's like I'm taking him home,_ Minseok thinks absurdly. He almost wants to laugh out loud.

They go their separate ways at the next light, but his angelic features are still carved into Minseok's mind by the time he falls asleep.

//

Tuesday.

 _Not any better,_ Minseok groans internally, forcing himself out of bed. _No extra minutes today_ , he promises himself, shutting off the alarm.

He's still feeling a little- blue, if that's the word- from the thought of the work week ahead of him. Feeling a little trapped, caged in by all the paperwork that awaits him. But he'll manage.

Minseok steps onto the bus again. It's not as packed as it was yesterday. Perks of being the early bird. And the stranger- again-

They lock eyes again. Neither of them moves, for a moment- and then he passes by, and his sweet cologne washes over Minseok. Something small in his chest is blooming.

It's harder to get him out of his head this time. The anxiety of wanting to see him at the end of this long day only serves to lengthen it. How ironic.

But he survives the day again. Takes the same route as yesterday.

They meet at the same crosswalk again. Just looking at him isn't enough- Minseok wants to reach out, touch him, let that sweet scent wash all over him again-

They lock eyes again. He sees himself reflected in those black eyes, can see his own, wide eyes, his stupid eyes that betray too much emotion-

He looks away hurriedly.

It's too late- Mr. Pretty Stranger has already rooted himself in Minseok's foolish heart.

//

It's silly, but he spends Wednesday night not getting enough sleep, and instead, picking out his nicest clothes, the ones that flatter him most. At least, those that still fit office dress code. Fishes out those expensive shoes his mother had bought him for his birthday that he still hasn't worn. He gets them all ready and sets them at the foot of his bed, placing his shoes neatly by the door. He stifles the urge to laugh out loud at himself- why is he like this?

He really should be sleeping- today was a particularly long day. Nothing out of the ordinary, though; it was all the usual. Get on the bus, exchange glances with Mr. Pretty Stranger, get off and survive the billions of hours at work. Walk home (of course, taking the same route as him). Not saying a word to him the entire time. Maybe he should introduce himself? But it'd be weird- they've already been staring each other down without exchanging so much a word.

Ah, he's really overthinking this. Why is he being like this? He looks over at the clock, and to his dismay, not even ten minutes have passed. He groans out loud. Tosses and turns.

 _This night's too long,_ Minseok thinks. _I'm doing absolutely nothing, not even dreaming- so I hope that you, at least, are having sweet dreams._

Fortunately, it doesn't take him much longer after that to finally fall asleep.

//

Thursday feels different.

It's the same routine that he's grown familiar with, grown to like, even. Get on the bus. Do nothing more than exchange a glance with him. It's like he's not even trying to lessen the distance between them, and it somehow only serves to make him even more curious, only makes him want to get closer, only increases his interest.

He gets off the bus with a bit too much pent-up frustration and energy. He jogs the remaining distance to work, letting off steam, and tries his very best to focus on work and only work.

It doesn't work very well.

His lack of focus comes back to bite him in the ass when it's time for him to go home and he realizes that he still has a sizeable packet to take care of. "Dammit," he hisses, and promises himself to take only an hour on it.

Again, it doesn't work, and by the time he gets out, the sun has gone down and the blue sky is starting to deepen.

And yet, they meet again. Same crosswalk, same traffic light. Different day, different time.

The night's still much too early for this, and yet the small emotions that he's been controlling are on the verge of overflowing, on the verge of spilling over.

Same crosswalk. Same traffic light. Minseok thinks that they could use something different. A change. A move that can't be taken back.

//

Minseok finally gets his escape from his boring, daily life, because it's Friday night and everyone and everything feels set free. He supposes that some type of celebration is going on, because strings and strings of festival lights adorn the streets and there are countless, aromatic food booths everywhere. This was probably the cause of the irritating noise that he could hear from even in his office- but he doesn't mind, not now. He doesn't mind the flashy neon lights, the beautiful people dancing in the streets.

Or- one beautiful person, in particular. In between the noise and lights, he still catches Minseok's eye. He's shining brighter than the lights on the street, brighter than the moon, brighter than all the stars in the sky. _How cheesy,_ he chides himself, but it takes no longer than a few moments to run to him, to be by his side.

He turns and looks. His gaze is captivating, mesmerizing, entrancing- Minseok's heart is being too loud.

He smiles and- wow, if something wasn't blooming in his chest before-

"Jongdae," he says simply, extending his hand. Stupidly pretty smile still on his stupidly pretty face.

"Minseok," he returns, shaking his hand.

"We've been meeting everywhere," he grins.

"Yeah," Minseok agrees, letting go of his surprisingly soft hand. Not that he was paying attention or anything.

"The crosswalk-"

"The bus," he says, starting to smile too.

"Everywhere," Jongdae supplies, grinning even wider.

"It's like you've been following me, or something- stalker," Minseok teases, sounding much more confident than he feels- and then Jongdae barks out a bright, loud laugh, and Minseok takes it in like it's a drug he can't live without.

"How about-"

He's cut off by the feel of Jongdae's arm around his waist, guiding him out of the way as a couple bikes down the street. His arm leaves his waist almost immediately, but the warmth, the sweet scent, it lingers-

"You were saying?" Jongdae prompts.

"Ah, where was- oh, yeah." _A change. A move that can't be taken back_. "How about I take you out tomorrow night?" he offers.

Jongdae averts his gaze nervously. It's hard to tell under the festival lights, but it looks like he's blushing. Minseok feels giddy already. "Funny, I was gonna ask you that, too." He looks up, gives a small, bashful smile. "So where to?"

"How about some Italian?" he quips back. This is easier than expected. He can't help the smile that appears on his face.

"Viva Polo?"

"I was thinking something fancier," he says smoothly. He notices the vendor nearest to them mouthing at him to get a room. Suppresses a laugh as he says, "Why don't I pick you up and drive us there?"

Jongdae smiles brightly. Adorably. He hands him a little note, with a handwritten address and phone number. Cute, bubbly handwriting, he observes. "6:00 PM?"

"6:00 PM," Minseok confirms.

"Well, then I'll see you then," Jongdae smirks. His gaze is captivating. Mesmerizing. Entrancing. Steeped in red, among all of the bright colors painting the streets.

There goes his stupid heart again.

//

Saturday morning finds him awake early. He was woken by his excitement and anxiety, and already he's on edge. The sun has barely risen- he's got a long day ahead of him.

There's nothing for him to do but wait, and make himself anxious by overthinking every little detail. He compulsively prepares an outfit (black slacks, crisp white dress shirt, dark blue tie; a flattering suit jacket, some shiny black shoes) and checks the clock every five seconds. Resists the urge to text Jongdae. He cleans his apartment from top to bottom out of restlessness, but it only takes him a few hours, and by the time he's finished it's only lunchtime. He's too nervous to eat anything.

After what feels like an eternity, it's 5:00 PM. Minseok gets dressed, styles his hair up, puts on some cologne. He smiles at himself in the mirror. It's almost time.

He finally pulls out his phone, and fishes out the note from Friday night. Texts the number a quick _on my way_ , and enters the address into his map app. According to his phone, it'll only take twenty minutes or so to get to Jongdae's apartment. He supposes he could stop by the local florist. A bouquet never hurts, after all.

He doesn't regret his decision at all when he pulls up to Jongdae's apartment, tells him _I'm here_ , and as if by magic, Jongdae's suddenly opening the door. Their eyes meet for a brief moment, but then Jongdae's trail down his body and back up. Not so discreetly, either. (Minseok can't blame him. He does the same exact thing.)

"You look- wow- I," Jongdae laughs, breathless- "I feel underdressed. And oh, are those- are those for me?"

Minseok grins, brandishing the bouquet of roses with a flourish. "You like them?"

"I love them- thank you so much. Come inside," Jongdae offers, ushering him in. "Let me go get a vase for these real quick. And I apologize for the mess," he winces, dashing off into the kitchen.

Minseok sits on the couch patiently, listening to the clanking coming from the kitchen, and then the rush of running water as he presumably fills up the vase. Admires his appearance as he moves the bouquet carefully, places it on the small dining table. Jongdae looks up at him, and their eyes lock for a brief moment- and then Jongdae looks away first, centers the bouquet.

"Ready to go?" he calls out.

Jongdae comes rushing over with a grin. "Ready," he confirms.

"You don't look too bad yourself, you know," he tells him as Jongdae locks his door. They make their way down to his car together, walking closely. Very closely.

"Oh, I already know-if all the staring from the past week is anything to go by."

Minseok laughs a genuine laugh as he opens the car door for him. "Have I been too obvious?" he grins as he slips in from his own side.

"Obvious isn't a strong enough word," Jongdae quips back, rolling his eyes- but he's smiling all the same. It makes Minseok feel infinitely better and definitely happier as he rests his hands on the wheel.

He's excited but somehow so relaxed and at ease around Jongdae. They don't talk much during the ride, but the radio fills in the silence. And it's not awkward either way. It's actually comfortable and calming and it feels like they fit so perfectly together. As if they were made for each other. As if fate was guiding them.

By the time they reach the elegant restaurant, the sun has gone down the the world is dipped in blue. It's beautiful. A perfect night with a perfect man.

He opens the door for Jongdae and bows him in with a grin and receives another eye-roll. Minseok just grins back at him.

Their dinner flies by too quickly for Minseok's taste. Even though his watch indicates that they've spent an hour (and an exciting and lovely one, at that) in the restaurant, it hardly feels like it's been ten minutes and he's starting to grow a little bit anxious, because he really doesn't want this perfect night to end yet. And then the waitress comes with the bill, distracting him. He briefly makes eye contact with Jongdae, and before they can have that whole "no-I'll-pay-for-it" fight, he whips out his credit card and hands the items right back to the waitress, who accepts it without a word despite the surprise visible in her eyes.

"You bastard," Jongdae groans, "I was gonna pay for it."

"Too bad," Minseok says with a smirk.

Their waitress comes back quickly, and hands Minseok his card, thanking them as they get up to leave.

They walk out into a deep blue night. The spring breeze that swirls around them is refreshingly cool. "Hey," Minseok suddenly says. "Let's get dessert."

"I'm down, as long as you let me pay this time."

He groans exaggeratedly. "Fine. How does ice cream sound?"

And so fifteen minutes later, they pull up to a cute little ice cream parlor next to a pretty park. He lets Jongdae pay for the sweets without complaint. And they stroll around under the moonlight with their cones, just taking in the many stars dotting the sky- at least, Jongdae is. Minseok's too busy staring at Jongdae to look at some balls of gas billions of miles away.

"What're you staring at?"

He startles, but recovers quickly enough to say, "you, 'cause you're so pretty."

Jongdae laughs that loud, bright laugh again. But he's blushing, too. It makes Minseok smile, just a tiny bit. And it makes that thing in his heart blossom, too. Just a tiny bit.

They reach for each other's hands at the same time. As if fate is guiding them.

The rest of the walk (and the drive home, too) is quiet and calm.

//

Minseok wakes up later than usual on Sunday morning. He squints into the warm sunlight filtering in throught the curtains, and turns over to face away from it with a groan. He gets a glimpse of his alarm clock- 10:47?!- but then ignores it, stretches languidly. He deserves a day off after such a busy week, after all.

He sighs and takes a deep breath, breathes in the cool breeze from the outside, breathes in a hint of the scent of coffee. Just like this, it's perfect.

Minseok slowly rolls over to face the window again and blindly reaches around his nightstand, fingers brushing over an unfinished manga before finding his phone. There's a text from Jongdae: _thanks for the nice night yesterday :)_

 _No problem. I enjoyed it too_ , he texts back. And then, as an afterthought: _Wanna come over and just chill?_

 _i'd love to_ is the immediate response, followed by _be there in 20!_

Minseok smiles to himself before getting out of bed and putting on some clothes. He makes his way to the kitchen and brews some good, strong coffee, and then sets up some gaming remotes and the TV for when Jongdae comes over- he'd mentioned that he likes gaming last night. He's on the couch, trying to finish the manga that he didn't get to from the other night, when the doorbell rings.

"Hey," he greets as he opens the door.

"I brought pizza," Jongdae grins as he slips into his apartment. "Is this coffee I smell?"

"Make yourself at home," Minseok tells him, taking the box out of his hands and taking it to the kitchen. It's so oddly domestic and soft and just- nice.

"Your place is so neat," Jongdae calls out. "So clean."

"Yeah? I make an effort to keep it this way," he smiles, bringing two cups of coffee.

Jongdae gives him a soft smile as he gently takes the cup. They sit closely together on the couch- shoulders touching, actually- even though there's plenty of room on either side.

  
And Minseok really does enjoy the time they spend together, and he enjoys Jongdae's close proximity, and he enjoys the way he looks and feels and the way he laughs and the way his eyes shine when victory seems imminent. Even if it's him that's losing every single round.

"Am I really good at this game or do you suck?" Jongdae laughs as Minseok loses for probably the hundredth time that afternoon. "Probably a combination of both," he smiles. "I haven't played MarioKart in ages."

"Let's play on Rainbow Road real quick and then pizza?"

"Deal," he grins.

And even when he loses (again), he kind of just wants to be in this moment right now. Next to Jongdae, absorbing his warmth, breathing in his sweet scent, watching the way his eyes twinkle, listening to his bright laugh.

He wants to be in this moment for a long time.

//

Monday again.

Minseok doesn't find it half as hard to wake up, for some reason. In fact, he's actually kind of excited. He's looking forward to today's workday like it's the weekend. He goes through his morning routine quickly and steps happily into the blue-dyed morning. Boards his usual bus.

Sees the usual pretty face that's like a holiday in his boring everyday.

"Hey," he says with a smile.

"Hey," Jongdae says back, stepping closer.

"Wanna get a coffee during lunch break?"

His sweet, happy smile is answer enough.

//

It's Tuesday morning and Minseok wakes up easily. He sprouts up at the thought of Jongdae- the splash of bright color to his monochromatic days. He supposes it's kind of ridiculous, how fast he's gotten attached. But there's nothing he can do about it- Jongdae is already blooming in his heart.

His silly daydreaming makes him miss his usual bus, but even then, he's not upset. He can afford to be late to work for just one day, and he will see Jongdae on the way home.

And he perseveres through the piles of work that normally drain his energy, puts up with his annoying coworkers, focuses on finishing early so he can see Jongdae at the end of this long day.

He can't express how excited and relieved he is when it's time to go home.

Minseok walks to their usual traffic light quickly. He's a little early, but it's okay. He can wait just a little longer.

And soon enough, they're standing together under a reddening sky. "Hey," Minseok says softly. He can't help but smile.

"Hey," Jongdae says back. The light turns red and they cross, footsteps perfectly in sync.

Before the next light turns, Minseok draws in a deep breath and turns to face him. "So-"

Jongdae's black eyes are wide. He sees himself reflected in them.

"Can I be your boyfriend?"

He laughs that lovely, bright laugh of his again and takes Minseok's hand in his. "What kind of question is that?"

The light turns red and they cross this last intersection together. "So, can I?" he grins, turning to face him fully.

He's taken by surprise when Jongdae pulls his hand out of Minseok's to cup his face with both hands and kiss him sweetly. He can't help the soft laugh that bubbles up from deep within his chest, the small smile that crosses his face when their foreheads touch and they stay like that. "Is that answer enough?" Jongdae whispers to him.

Minseok only gives him a bright smile in response.

**Author's Note:**

> each day was based off of the lyrics for each song for the corresponding day in the album because I. LOVE. THIS. COMEBACK. i hope you liked reading this as much as i liked writing it :')


End file.
